 close friend: a very good friend.

 enjoy each other's company: to like spending time with each other.Steve
and Noah are always together, they definitely enjoy each others company.
 fair-weather friend: someone who is your friend only when you are cheerful
and successful. A lot of John's friends turned out to be fair-weather friends.
They were with him when he was rich and left him when he went bankrupt.
 friends are like second family: that is to say your friends love you and
make you feel comfortable.
 get in touch with somebody: to contact somebody.I plan to get in touch
with my friends when I return home.
 near and dear to someone: very important to someone.Her parents are the
only people who are near and dear to her.
 shoulder to cry on: someone who is always ready to listen to your
problems.I'm so glad my boyfriend is so kind and sympathetic, it's good to
always have a shoulder to cry on.
 to be through thick and thin: to have some good times and difficult times
together.Your parents are married for 15 years, they must have been through
thick and thin together.
 to be well-matched: to be similar to somebody in interests.They are well-
matched.
 to break up: to end a relationship.It is hard to believe that Jacob and Sarah
broke up. They were dating since high school.
 to drift apart: to become less close to someone.As years went by, school
friends drifted apart.
 to fall for someone (to fall in love with someone): to start loving
somebody.They were childhood friends, and he fell for her!
 to fall out with: to quarrel, to have a conflict.He left the party after falling
out with his girlfriend.
 to get on like a house on fire: people get on like a house on fire when they
like each other's company and become friends very quickly.I like my new
roommate! We have a lot of same interests and get on like a house on fire.
 to get on well with somebody: to have a good relationship with
somebody.I'm an outgoing person and I easily get on well with new people.
 to get to know someone: to become acquainted with someone.I thought
Jenna was selfish until I got to know her and understood her real character.
 to have a lot in common: to have similar interests.
 to have friends in high places: to have friends in powerful positions in
business or government.Joe owes his fast career growth to his friends in high
places.
 to hit it off with somebody: to quickly become close friends with
somebody.I could not imagine that Laura will hit it off with Dylan! They are so
different.
 to keep in touch with someone: to maintain contact with someone.I keep
in touch with my friends from high school, although we graduated five years
ago.
 to lose touch with someone: to lose contact with someone.I lost touch with
Mary since she moved to Canada.
 to see eye to eye: to agree.I think it's better to live in a big city, but my
brother doesn't see eye to eye with me about it.
 to strike up (a conversation, a relationship): to start.I feel awkward when
I strike up a conversation with unknown people.
 ups and downs: a mixture of good and bad things that happen.We're friends
for almost 30 years! Surely we've had our ups and downs.
 The Earth

(A) The Earth is the third planet from the Sun and it is the only planet known to
have life on it. The Earth formed around 4.5 billion years ago. It is one of four rocky
planets on the inside of the Solar System. The other three are Mercury, Venus, and
Mars.

(B) The large mass of the Sun makes the Earth move around it, just as the mass of
the Earth makes the Moon move around it. The Earth also turns round in space, so
different parts face the Sun at different times. The Earth goes around the Sun once
(one "year") for every 365¼ times it turns all the way around (one "day").

(C) The Moon goes around the Earth about every 27⅓ days, and reflects light from
the Sun. As the Earth goes round the Sun at the same time, the changing light of
the Moon takes about 29½ days to go from dark to bright to dark again. That is
where the idea of "month" came from. However, now most months have 30 or 31
days so they fit into one year.

(D) The Earth is the only planet in our Solar System that has a large amount of
liquid water. About 71% of the surface of the Earth is covered by oceans. Because
of this, it is sometimes called the "Blue Planet".

(E) Because of its water, the Earth is home to millions of species of plants and
animals. The things that live on Earth have changed its surface greatly. For
example, early cyanobacteria changed the air and gave it oxygen. The living part
of the Earth's surface is called the "biosphere".

(F) The Earth is part of the eight planets and many thousands of small bodies that
move around the Sun as its Solar System. The Solar System is moving through the
Orion Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy now, and will be for about the next 10,000
years.

(G) The Earth is generally 150,000,000 kilometers or 93,000,000 miles away from
the Sun (this distance is named an "Astronomical Unit"). The Earth moves along its
way at an average speed of about 30 km or 19 mi a second. The Earth turns all the
way around about 365¼ times in the time it takes for the Earth to go all the way
around the Sun. To make up this extra bit of a day every year, an additional day is
used every four years. This is named a "leap year".

(H) The Moon goes around the Earth at an average distance of 400,000 kilometers
(250,000 mi). It is locked to Earth, so that it always has the same half facing the
Earth; the other half is called the "dark side of the Moon". It takes about 27⅓ days
for the Moon to go all the way around the Earth but, because the Earth is moving
around the Sun at the same time, it takes about 29½ days for the Moon to go from
dark to bright to dark again. This is where the word "month" came from, even
though most months now have 30 or 31 days.
Questions 1–8

Reading Passage 1 has eight paragraphs A-H. Which paragraph contains the following
information? Write the correct letter, A–H, in boxes 1–8 on your answer sheet.

1. Earth’s natural satellite

2. Distance between Earth and Sun

3. General information about Earth

4. The Solar System

5. Length of most moths

6. Another name for Earth

7. The living part of the Earth's surface

8. The movements of Earth around the Sun

Questions 9-13

Complete the sentences below.

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the text for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 9-13 on your answer sheet.
9. Apart from Earth, other rocky planets in our Solar Systems are Venus, Mars and .

10. Moon from the Sun on Earth.

11. There are millions of of plants and animals that inhabit Earth.

12. Now the Solar System is travelling through .

13. The dark side of the Moon is the side, which faces Earth.
 The Positive Effects on Children of Owning a Dog
Brendan's best friend is Tip. Tip and Brendan are inseparable. They
teach each other things and they look after each other. Tip has helped
Brendan become more responsible, more caring, and a better friend.
Brendan is a nine-year-old boy, and Tip is a ten-year-old dog. Brendan
and Tip are an example of how owning a dog can have a positive effect
on a child's development. Having a dog develops a child's sense of
responsibility, broadens his capacity for empathy, and teaches the
nature of friendship.

Having a dog helps a child learn how to act responsibly. As a dog owner,
the child must take care of the animal's daily needs. The dog must be
fed and exercised every day. A dog is completely dependent on its
owner for all its needs, including the need for good health and a safe
environment. Therefore, being responsible for a dog also means taking
care of the dog so that it stays healthy. Furthermore, the owner must
take responsibility for the safety of the dog and the safety of the people
it comes into contact with. If the child forgets any of these duties and
responsibilities, or ignores any of the dog's needs, the dog will suffer.
This teaches the child that his responsibility to the dog is more
important than his desire to play with his toys, talk on the phone, or
watch TV. This is true not only for the care of a dog, but also for the
care of oneself, another person, or one's job. Learning how to take
responsibility for the health and welfare of a dog leads to learning how
to take responsibility for oneself.

Another lesson that a child can learn from having a dog is how to be
empathetic. Empathy is the ability to put oneself in another person's, or
in this case another creature's, situation and imagine that person's or
creature's feelings or problems. A dog cannot express itself with speech,
so its owner must learn how to interpret its behaviour. The child must
learn to understand what the dog's behaviour means. Is the dog
frightened, aggressive, or sick? The child needs to understand what is
going on in the dog's mind. Understanding a situation from the dog's
perspective helps the child understand why the dog is behaving in a
certain way and what the dog needs. The result of learning to read a
dog's behaviour is that the child develops empathy. By learning how to
empathize with a dog, the child also learns how to empathize with other
people. This leads to the child becoming a more considerate and caring
person.

Being considerate and caring are important characteristics in a good

friend. One of the most significant benefits of owning a dog is the
example of true friendship that a dog provides. A dog gives
unconditional love to its owner. A dog will not stop loving its owner
because of a little anger, indifference, or neglect. The dog will wait
patiently for its owner to pat its head and say a few kind words. This
acceptance of the negative qualities and appreciation for the positive
qualities of its owner provide a wonderful model of how to be a good
friend. A child soon realizes that his dog will always listen to him, will
always be ready to play with him, will always protect him, and will
always forgive him. A child who has learned to be even half as good a
friend to others as his dog is to him will have learned one of the most
valuable lessons in life.

These are some of the most important lessons a child will ever learn.
The benefits of owning a dog will last the child's entire lifetime. The
understanding and appreciation of responsibility, empathy, and
friendship that a child develops from the experience of having a dog will
help him or her grow into a reliable, caring, and mature adult.